Cut in wait for training

WAITING times have been slashed by the Training and Enterprise Councils after a row with Ann Widdecombe, the Under-Secretary of State for Employment, writes Colin Brown.

Miss Widdecombe warned the TECs they were breaking the Government's pledge to give training places to young people within eight weeks. She is now planning to tell the Commons that the numbers waiting for more than eight weeks have been cut from 5,424 to 138 in the past year.

The biggest fall was South Thames, down from 476 to 0. Sussex now has the longest waiting list of 24 compared to 66 a year ago.